THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Don't think a saw this on the forum before.

My brakes work fine going forward but not so good in reverse.

Is it just in need of adjustment or could it be something else?

My '75 is the same way. I tried re-adjusting but no change.

Hopefully someone can tell us what's going on?

By design the Pinz has better breaking when traveling forwards i.e. better breaking for the high speed direction. The Pinz has dual leading front brakes and single leading rear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading/tr ... drum_brake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_leading_drum_brake

I think they went too far with that design. On a steep incline the pinz can't even hold its own weight on the brakes. I found out the hard way when I had to stop while going up a mountain trail (brown trousers).

edzz wrote:By design the Pinz has better breaking when traveling forwards i.e. better breaking for the high speed direction. The Pinz has dual leading front brakes and single leading rear.

Well, I've had some older trucks that had single leading brakes both front and rear and didn't notice this issue. I suspect that something else is involved.

My bad for not wording better.

If the brakes will not hold the Pinz on a steep hill (frontwards or backwards) the brakes need servicing. I did not intend to imply the brakes should not be able to hold the truck on any hill.

The first thing I would do would be to pull the drum’s off and inspect the shoes for contamination and /or glazing or excessive wear.

It is possible you have brake fluid of gear lube contaminating the shoes or the shoes are just glazed. If simply glazed a light sanding may be all that’s needed before reassembly and adjustment.

Check the obvious first:
The linings are good ( and dry), and properly adjusted.
Check the drums to see that they are not oversized.
Also notice the wear pattern on the linings for contact on the drum

Because the brake system of a Pinz is designed for better stopping in a forward direction, ( the brakes extend out in the direction of rotation), the opposite is true that the rotation in reverse pushes against the wheel cylinders, requiring more pressure on the pedal for the same effect.
With that said, check all the "soft" parts of the braking system. Where a leaking master brake or wheel cylinder may be obvious, a rubber hose may be rotting and swelling under pressure, and where you may have the same pressure on the brake pedal, the rotation of the wheel may be pushing the cylinder back in just enough to make the brakes ineffective

Issue solved.

It was just a matter of adjusting the brakes. Still doesn't brake as good in reverse as it does in forward, but as many pointed out, it isn't designed that way.

BTW, pay attention the the front brake adjustment. Make sure that both adjusters are extended equally. Mine were not and I am sure that added to the original problem.

Thanks to all who responded.